


Of Tails And Tribulations

by Anti_One



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Danny is still human, Gen, Hint: I was thinking bout blue excorcist, thats all you need to worry bout for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-09-10 14:17:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8920351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anti_One/pseuds/Anti_One
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal Summer. Of course with his luck, it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.





	1. Summer

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Danny Phantom. Lord knows what would happen if I did.

It itches.

The base of his spine _itches_.

It had started off as a tingle near the beginning of summer. He had barely noticed it then, what with the Ghosts he had to tackle. He just simply scratched it until it went away. But now? Now it had steadily increased slowly to the point of almost unbearable and where even putting anti-itch cream (that Jazz had let him borrow) had done nothing. Jazz had been worried but he had waved her off claiming that it was some ghostly rash and then proceeded to shut himself inside his room for the next week.

It was now day 7 of the mysterious itch.

Danny sighed as he looked at the raw bloody skin as he continued to peel off the loose dead skin. It hurt, but he knew that it had to be cleaned or it'll infect. Looking closer he noticed something poking out of the skin. Still covered in small bits of skin and blood was bone.

He stared. And really, if it weren't his ability to stay quiet while cleaning his wounds after fighting ghosts, (or being shoved in a locker) and his desensitization of gory stuff the only sound he made before fainting was:

"Ew."

* * *

 

**June 8:**

It was just a little bump. Easily covered by a long t-shirt or pants. The only weird thing was the fact that the bump was bone. That was sticking out of his back. Tailbone. Whatever.

He didn't tell anyone of it.

* * *

 

**June 9:**

Was it him or did it get bigger? Still easy to cover but have to be careful about jumping. Sam and Tucker had stopped their pestering, finally having believed him about being fine. The not-bump didn't show up in his ghost form.

* * *

 

**June 10:**

Today was really painful and he had slept the entire day. Jazz had thought he simply had a small fever what with his temperature being a normal humans at the time. (Being half-ghost had his body temp being lower than average.) He had woken up to the Bump growing its own muscles and skin and that it had grown another inch.

* * *

 

**June 12:**

He finally decided to look closer at the growth. The bone was a little pointy at the end, almost like a horn. It wasn't completely covered with skin but it didn't bleed as heavily now. The second wasn't completely formed-from what he could tell-and really it just seemed like a normal bone to him. It still creeped him out to be honest.

* * *

 

**June 15:**

His parents hadn't noticed anything and Jazz had only sent him the occasional worried look whenever he scratched around the area of the bone.

* * *

 

**June 18:**

His hunger had increased and he had begun drinking more calcium drinks, to make up for what he had figured was the Bump's doing. It had grown to at least half a foot and seemed to grow a little faster everyday. His parents still haven't noticed what was happening. Sam and Tucker had been dragged out to their respective family trips and couldn't come back until the end of Summer. He missed them, but knew he wouldn't have been able to hide it any longer were it not for that.

* * *

**June 25:**

One and a half feet long. And still going. Danny kept having to change the sheets in his bed because of the blood. He took frequent showers, wincing every time the water hit an open wound. He was really glad he didn't scar as easily. It would have Abeen much harder for him to clean it.

* * *

**June 28:**

He gave up on the sheets and just slept on top of a red thick towel that would hide the stains well. Parents were stuck in the basement working on something that would help them with capturing ghosts harmlessly (like the thermos, but they had lost both the blueprint and thermos.) so they could learn better about them. He was glad to have finally convinced them of the idea that not all ghosts were bad. Albeit a bit wary of how they were doing it. Ghosts weren't animals.

One step at a time.

* * *

 

**June 31:**

The ghosts and him had come to a silent agreement, that so long as they didn't terrorise the town/commit crimes etc. they were free to do as they like. Danny had taken to tying a jacket he had found digging in his closet around his waist. That way, he could stop any blood for a short time and to hide the obviously growing not-a-bump.

* * *

 

**July 10:**

Things were peaceful. Ghosts weren't attacking today. The only thing was that his jacket had slipped off while talking with Ghostwriter (they had made up before summer started) and that the reality bending ghost had seen the blood.(thankfully not the false-bump) Danny had paled when asked about it and had stammered about needing to go home to get something. He ran all the way back home, never noticing the concerned look on the writing ghost's face.

"I hope he is alright."

Ghostwriter turned away.

"May he sleep well tonight."

* * *

 

**July 15:**

Jazz had to leave for her next college tour for the week. His parents, to a ghost convention. When asked to join them, he had declined giving an excuse about playing online games with Sam and Tucker. They had nodded and told him to keep an eye on the house while they were gone. They never realized that both Sam and Tucker had no access to computers, from where they were.

* * *

 

**July 18:**

Was it growing hair? Sticky and wet with blood.

* * *

 

**July 20:**

He could sorta move it if he tried. Still hurt though. Lots of blood still. It was almost enough to give him anemia.

* * *

 

**July 26:**

Four feet and still growing. He had stayed inside the house these last few days. The ghosts had started to come fewer and fewer, having realized D-day was nearing. Only Ghostwriter and a few unknowns had come over a bit. The writing ghost had stayed with Danny simply chatting with him. He never questioned the blood again and had played ignorance on his increasingly sickly appearance. Danny was grateful for it.

* * *

 

**July 27:**

No ghosts came through the portal today except Ghostwriter. Not even the box ghost came today.

Tomorrow was his Death day.

* * *

 

**July 28, 2:00 AM:**

The sharp pains had grown from day one but today was unbearable. In a burst of instinct, he had stumbled from his bed, still half asleep. Almost drunkenly he transformed into his ghost form and sank down through the floor to the ghost portal.

The Catalyst that started it all.

Walking forward he turned toward the computer that controlled the portal. Typing down the password, it shut it down with a flash and swirl of ectoplasm. As it died, a small yell was heard but he paid no heed to it.

With glazed eyes he walked forward, turning human as he went. The not-bump trailed behind him, brushing the floor and slowly swinging with each step.

One. _Swish_.

Two. _Swoosh_.

Three. _Swish_.

Four. _Swoosh_.

Fi-

A hand on his shoulder stopped him, one foot almost in the portals entrance. Turning he came face to face with Clockwork, ghost of Time. The ghost shook his head. Danny turned his head to look at the portal. Then back at Clockwork. A tear slid down the halfa's face.

Green flashed in his eyes, and with an echo to his voice he asked.

_"Why?"_

The age-changing ghost pulled him in for a hug, chin resting on the halfa's head. Grimly he answered.

"It is not your time, Daniel."

His hands started to shake. Grabbing onto the cloak, he wept. About what, neither knew and yet they did. And so he cried. For his worries. For his pain. For his struggles. For anything and everything. He cried until he couldn't anymore.

The time ghost held him all through morning, until Danny finally fell asleep with tear stains on his face.

 


	2. Info

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *siiigh* so few… And yet I love each and every one of them for noticing this story! Kehe. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> This is Unbetaed

He knew what it was. He'll admit he knew the minute he tried to move it. He was growing a tail. By now it looked to have been almost fully grown with the occasional sore pain here and there. Clockwork had said not to worry about them.

Grown to a good 6 feet, his tail was longer than he would ever be tall. Covered in inch long black hairs it almost looked like a Persian cat's tail. It matched the hair in his human form. Black and slightly messy. He had once tried moving it again but stopped when he hit himself in the face with it instead. Clockwork had chuckled at his attempt. Danny ignored him, face turning red.

He wasn't quite sure what to think of his new… _limb?_ Clockwork had said that he was still human. Just that he had a tail. So he let it be for now. It always was better for the Ticking ghost to explain on their own time. (Even if it'll take forever. Patience is a virtue, and all that. He learned that in the Christmas Event.)

After the incident last night, the portal had stayed off for the rest of the day. Clockwork had stayed with him giving him company for the day, simply following him around and chatting about the timelines. He wasn't quite sure why he was there but he was rather grateful for it, considering that he almost _ended_ himself that morning.

It was a rather eye-opening experience to the actual mechanics of his ghost side. He hadn't really bothered with it, to begin with, and it's already been, what, two years? He'll admit it was about time.

When he asked Clockwork about it, he had smiled but shook his head and promised to talk about it later. It seemed that whatever it was would probably take a long time. Time that he did not have for now. Both Danny's friends and family were due to come in two days or so, and he still had to find a way to hide the obvious and can't-really-hide, tail. He would simply have to wait. Clockwork knew what he was doing.

The next day he opened the portal again. On the other side, surprisingly was Ghostwriter. He had scolded him immensely on how stupid he was, his Scottish accent getting heavier and heavier, while Clockwork had stood to the side with an amused smile. He had almost curled in on himself for worrying a friend( _? Was he a friend?_ ) until GW had pulled him in for a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He whispered.

Never had he blushed so hard before.

Before Danny could say anything -not that he could, he was stuttering too much- Clockwork intervened.

"Now then." GW paused in his fussing. He slowly looked to where the voice came from. The ectoplasm draining out of his face made him look more, well, _dead_. He was almost shaking as he stared at the now baby Time ghost. Clockwork smiled.

"I am sure you're both wondering about the events that have transpired...?"

The writing ghost squeaked. Danny was confused.

* * *

They had sat down in Danny's room, having decided to be safer than sorry. Just in case someone came home early. Danny had decided to just let the rather long tail out. He hadn't bothered to hide it, thinking Clockwork had already known. What he wasn't expecting was for Ghostwriter to find out.

As soon as GW saw it his eyes had widened almost comically. Had it been for a different reason, Danny would've laughed.

"You've gone through Recensere already!?"

He looked up, having been staring at the ground in fear.

"I, what?"

"You have gone through Recensere or Change in Latin," Clockwork says. GW goes silent. Clockwork shifted into a baby. "In a way, you could call it puberty for ghosts."

"Puberty?" He frowned, his tail curled around his body slowly twitching. "Wait so this was _supposed_ to happen?"

The Time Ghost nodded, form shifting again. "Yes, although every change is different for each ghost." A smile. "Or half-ghosts."

Ghostwriter tentatively interrupted, glancing repeatedly at Clockwork. "There's nothing wrong with it. It's quite normal for young ghosts going through their 'teenage' years to experience Recensere." While he talked, Clockwork made silent pictures out of ectoplasm showing small diagrams of what GW was explaining. "Recensere is usually a physical thing, say, for example, one could grow fangs or they could grow six feet tall. It all depends really, on the ghost."

Danny relaxed a little, realising that he wasn't actually a 'freak.' And that he won't be seen any different.

With a small thump, Clockworks staff connected with the back of Danny's head.

"Ow!" He rubbed his now sore head. "What was that for!?"

Clockwork glared. Danny glared back. Ghostwriter silently floated in the air, jaw open at what he was seeing.

"You were going to call yourself a 'freak'?" Danny flinched. Ghostwriter's expression turned from shocked to murderous very quickly. Clockwork patted Danny's head and almost pulling him in for a hug, but restrained himself. "You are not a 'freak'." He said the word with distaste. "You are a Halfa. And there is nothing wrong with it."

His mouth opened to protest, if even a little weakly, but at the look from both Clockwork and Ghostwriter he closed it. He looked down fiddling with his shirt as he tried to hide the tears that sprang up. What did he do to deserve such awesome friends?

Danny nodded meekly, a steel in his eyes as he absorbed what was said.

"A-alright." He said. And both ghosts relaxed. Clockwork knew it wasn't over but he was fine for now.

And they went back to the hand at matter.

Danny turned questioning eyes towards GW.

"Why did my Recensere end up being-" he gently waved the tail so as not to hit anything.-"this?" He had sat on his bed, Ghostwriter in the chair and Clockwork preferred floating.

A hand on his chin, Ghostwriter hummed.

"It usually reflects the ghost personality or desire. Recensere is usually something that can help a ghost be stronger or can boost their power."

He started to pace, -well, as much as a ghost can, he was floating after all-tugging lightly at his goatee.

Quietly he said, " I am not quite sure of what a tail could mean. It could represent an animal inside, so to speak." He stopped pacing.

Clockwork spoke. "Or it could simply be that your body had felt the need for it."

Danny turned towards the shifting ghost. Ghostwriter had gone silent again.

He tilted his head.

"Why would my, uh body need a-" he waved it again. "-tail?" He was getting the hang of this.

Clockwork smiled. He shifted into an old man. "Perhaps your ghost side subconsciously thought you were in need of it. In thinking so, it used the power boost in Recensere to create, -or grow-, a tail, hence making your human side a little more equal to its ghost."

Danny blinked as he thought. Wait.

"But I don't remember going through Recenseer or something."

"Recensere." Ghostwriter corrected. "And it's a gradual thing. Like Puberty." Referring earlier to what Clockwork said.

Danny tilted his head. Neither of the ghosts mentioned how innocent he looked at that moment. "But if Recensere was what happened to ghosts-That's right, right?-" Both ghosts nodded. "Then why hasn't my tail shown up in ghost form?" He briefly transformed into Phantom to point it out then changed back.

Clockwork nodded to what he said. "Simply saying that your human form is a part of your ghost form. Two sides of the same coin."

"But," He lifted a finger, stopping what was sure to be another round of questions from a confused Danny. "Your human form is too weak."

Danny winced at that. Yes, he was getting stronger in his human form, enough to handle the box ghost, Klemper and maybe Skulker but he would never be able to stand against most of the stronger level ghosts. He was able to handle himself much better in ghost form against them considering that he was, in a way, dead and had no limit. Plus ghost powers were much easier to handle than in his human form.

He looked to Clockwork again. "So my ghost side just thought to... _strengthen_ my human side?"

Ghostwriter hummed, answering instead. "Exactly. Hence the reason why it has not show up in your Phantom form and only this one."

Danny nodded. He could accept that. Really, this wasn't even as weird as the time he tried duplicating himself. Now, he just had an extra limb. Permanently. Probably for the rest of his half-life.

...

Ok, so maybe it was a bit disorienting. He was sure he'll get used to it. His tail flicked at the thought. Yeah.

Hesitantly, Danny asked, "Well, now that we have that out of the way…"

They both turned to look at him. It was his turn to squeak.

"Hmm?" Clockwork had an eyebrow raised, a smile on his lips. He probably knew what he was going to say anyways. Jerk.

"H-how am I supposed to hide it?" He wrung his hands a little.

"You don't." Clockwork said.

Danny continued to ramble. "I mean, I have school still and I can't just walk around with a tail like it's-what?" Ghostwriters jaw dropped.

Clockwork smiled a little bigger. Danny narrowed his eyes.

"You do not need to hide your tail." He raised an eyebrow. "It would be rather awkward to hide a tail that size under your shirt."

True.

The time ghost reached a hand into his cloak and pulled out a metal bracelet of some kind. "Here. This will serve to hide your tail in 'plain sight' so to speak."

Clockwork beckoned Danny aiming for his tail. Slowly, Danny lifted his tail in front of the shifting ghost. The ghost slowly touched his tail being careful with it as he knew it was still sore. The bracelet itself looked kinda like those things Egyptians wear. An arm brace, or something. But it was for a tail. A Tail brace then?

It was a nice dulled platinum, about three inches wide that was thin enough to fit comfortably around his tail. There was engraved symbols on it that he found he could read if he focused really hard on it. The symbols wavered before slowly forming English words in his eyes. ' _Sight.' 'Hide.' 'Mortal.'_ He mouthed the words, so intent on trying to read it he didn't notice Ghostwriter looking at him in small surprise. Danny continued to stare at it while Clockwork moved to clip it around his tail near the tip.

The moment it closed with a click, he felt a shiver from the tip of his tail and up his back. He could definitely feel its power. He lifted his tail closer to his face staring at the rather pretty piece of metal. It wasn't heavy, and if he was honest he could barely notice it's weight. With enough practice, he could probably never notice it.

"Push some of your power into it." He said.

Danny looked at Clockwork.

"Power?" What was this, DBZ?

Impatiently, Ghostwriter spoke up. "Ectoplasm, Daniel."

"Oh." He was saying that a lot lately.

Slowly he reached to grab both his tail and brace thingy. The metal was slightly cool to the touch as he traced the carvings on it. It seemed to pulse a little as if to betray some of its hidden power. Closing his eyes, he searched for that cold-warmth that was his ghost core. It was a little hard to find in his human form, what with a distracting heartbeat going in sync with it.

When he opened his eyes they glowed an otherworldly mix of both sides of the supernatural spectrum that was either ghost or human. Maybe both. An icy blue and toxic green shown from his eyes, as his hair started to shift in an invisible wind. He didn't notice that he was starting to float slightly. Clockwork simply smiled while Ghostwriter stood slightly to the side in awe of the strength and power that radiated from the Halfa. Let it never be said that he _couldn't_ protect his hometown.

There, he found it. Grabbing a stray tendril of his 'power' he guided it to to the bracelet. The moment it touched he felt a small drain as the trinket raised its own tendrils and absorbed what he gave it and a little more, tangling with his core. A small constant drain. Not noticeably draining that it would tire him. Just enough to stay powered.

It glowed briefly the same color like his own, before fading as it activated. The hair(or is it fur?) on his tail stood on end as a cold sort of air washed over it. It kind of felt like if he were to stand in the freezer in his ghost form. Cold but comfortable. And then it faded hovering lightly above the skin of his tail. Invisible, but easily felt and, of course, ignored with practice.

Ghostwriter floated a little closer looking curiously at it with a bit of disbelief.

"I can still see it, though." He turned to Clockwork, eyes diverted from looking at him directly. "Is it faulty?"

Clockwork shook his head as he explained what it did. "It does not affect ghosts." He leant forward from where he floated and pointing at the words that read ' _Mortal.'_ Danny shifted his tail so Ghostwriter could see.

"That symbol there says Mortal or human." He pointed to the one next to it. "That one says Sight." He flicked his hands forming another ectoplasmic construct of a ghost and human. The faux ghost held the same brace-thingy (He seriously needs to find out what it was called.) on its wrist. The human was an average one that sort of looked like Jazz if he stared long enough. Clockwork continued to talk. "When activated a normal human cannot see whatever the brace is attached too. But a ghost still can. Think of it like selective invisibility." As he talked the ghost wearing the brace pretended to infuse some power into the brace while the human started to look around confused. Another ectoplasmic ghost came along and pointed out where the other ghost was making said human to look in the general area but still looked confused.

Danny scratched his head. The animation was really cute(not that he'll admit it.)and he wondered if he could get Clockwork to teach him how he did that. It would certainly help when he played with the-

An amused voice interrupted his thoughts. "I will teach it to you later on Daniel."

Danny's eye twitched.

"Will you stop reading my mind!?"

"You know I cannot, 'read minds' as you say, Daniel," Danny grumbled as he pouted. He turned to GW instead.

"So, now what?"

Ghostwriter blinked, startled a little at the shift in attention.

"Well-"

A loud bang was heard from downstairs interrupting GW's speaking.

"Sweetie! We're home early!"

"Traffic was really empty, Son!"

' _Probably because of your driving, Dad.'_

"But how do we know it'll work?" Danny asked a little tense now that he knew his parents were home. They didn't know that there were two ghosts (and a half) in the house. They may be more open-minded but they weren't particularly open to having them so near. (and isn't that ironic?)

"Well…" Clockwork smiled. There was a glint in his eyes that sent shivers down his spine. No. He couldn't be thinking…

"There's only one way to test it."

And he was shoved out the door.

"Sweetie?"

The stairs creaked a little as his mom walked up the stairs. He squeaked. His tail was still out! Turning he turned to grab at the door knob. Locked.

' _Clockwooork!'_

"Danny?"

He went still. His tail dropped to the ground with a small 'poff' on the carpet. His mom stood behind him having taken the final step up. His dad was probably rummaging around the fridge for fudge.

Slowly the Halfa turned around to face her, hand automatically going to rub behind his neck. A nervous tick.

"W-welcome home mom." He smiled, praying desperately that the trinket worked. It pulsed in response. He almost tripped in place.

Maddie looked concerned.

"What's wrong sweetie?" She walked up to Danny. "You're looking a little pale." Lifting a hand, she put it on his forehead.

"You don't have a fever…" she mumbled.

He stuttered, trying to look innocent. "I-I'm fine, mom. Just feeling a little tired."

' _Well besides the fact of having two ghosts in my bedroom that locked me out and that I grew a tail over the summer.'_

She frowned.

"You weren't playing games all night were you?"

He jumped at the excuse. "Yeah! That. I played with Sam and Tucker and I guess I lost track of time." He looked away. "Heh. Sorry mom."

Her eyes narrowed, unnoticed by Danny. She let it go for now.

"Well alright. Next time, keep an eye on the time otherwise, you might oversleep for school." She ruffled his hair. He grumbled, a little embarrassed at the action. "It's a good thing it's still summer then, hm?"

"Y-yeah." He chuckled a little weakly.

And she walked away, saying that she was going to eat some fudge with Jack. The moment he knew she was downstairs, he collapsed on the floor, heaving a big breath. His bedroom door creaked open. Ghostwriter peeked his head out.

"Did it work?"

He got slapped on the back of the head for that.

"Okay. stupid question."

Clockwork chuckled, unseen, but earned a glare for it anyways.


	3. Daily Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Snicker*

_[_ " _You can take it off any time should you feel the need to. But in the beginning let it be accustomed to your core so it can activate automatically." He smirked a little. "That way you won't need to take half an hour and 33 seconds to connect to it."_

_Danny blushed. His tail curled around his legs, the brace thumping lightly against it. Don't blame him! It's really hard to do it in the first place!_

" _Of course you can cut off the power too, without the need of removing it."]_

_He blinked slowly. Still in the clutches of sleep._

_[_ " _Do you think you'll tell your human friends of this?" Ghostwriter asked.]_

He rolled over, burying deeper in his blankets. It was cold this morning.

_[Danny looked down._

" _Maybe."]_

His tail moved in accordance draping over his legs like some furry snake.

 _[_ " _Take your time Daniel." Clockwork smiled. A gentle smile._

" _You need not worry."]_

Footsteps outside his door. Probably Jazz back from the tour.

 _[_ " _Well." GW stood from where he was sitting. "I suppose I should head back. I have a story I need to finish._

" _Alright. See ya GW."_

_Ghostwriter paused._

" _GW?"]_

The smell of ectoplasm wafted into his room. Oh no.

 _[_ " _I can't say your name. Too long."_

_GW blinked.]_

A loud boom shook the house. Danny groaned.

 _[_ " _Call me ' '"_

" _Huh?"]_

He sat up, glaring sleepily at his clock that blinked 9:55 AM.

Rubbing his eyes, he got up to dress. No point in sleeping in now.

_[A roll of the eyes._

" _It's easier to say then, Ghostwriter."_

" _O-okay. ' '."]_

Yawning, he grabbed shorts and a shirt from the dresser, scratching his stomach. His tail, as always trailed behind him. It dragged on the ground, leaving small indents on the carpet. He opened his door to the hallway.

A sausage flew at his face.

_[And he was gone with an invite to his lair 'at any time' and a small metal quill the size of a quarter, shaped into a circle with both ends connected._

_Danny waved bye as ' ' sank through the floorboards to the portal._

_Clockwork floated behind him, form shifting to that of an adult.]_

He lifted the sharpened pencil he grabbed from his desk and threw.

 _[_ " _You have made good friends with him. He does not invite many to his home so casually." Clockworks eyes seemed to shine. He was looking at the timelines.]_

He was already in the bathroom when a skewered glowing hot dog hit the ground.

 _[_ " _Keep your friends close. They will help you on your way."_

_Danny looked at the -now adult- ghost._

" _You're one of my friends too you know." His cheeks pinked a little at his confession._

_Clockwork nodded his head at the sentence smiling a little bigger at his adorableness.]_

The water rushed down his back as he closed his eyes. Reveling in the slightly lukewarm water. Grabbing for shampoo he proceeded to wash his hair.

 _[_ " _You are also my ward."_

" _Yeah, I know. Thanks for that too by the way."]_

He paused. Then dumped some on his pile of tail that was thoroughly soaked now. He hoped no one noticed the faster decrease of shampoo now.

 _[_ " _I will be going now." He gestured for Danny's hand. A small bracelet dropped into his open palm. "You may visit whenever you want."_

_Danny stared at the accessory._

" _Thank you, Clockwork." It wasn't just for the eternal invitation.]_

Once he was all squeaky clean he turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing his towel from the rack. He rubbed his hair as he picked up the bracelet to look at again. It glinted against the artificial light of the bathroom.

_[He nodded and opened a portal with a wave of his hand. You could see on the other side was his Tower.]_

Made of small, thin chains, despite how frail it looked was rather sturdy. He had tugged on it once to test it -he didn't want to lose it in a fight or something.- it had stayed true and didn't even bend. The metal was a tarnished looking gold and had a small charm attached to it. The charm looked like a smaller version of Clockwork's gear necklaces that could keep a person from being frozen in time. He had already added the quill to it having figured Clockwork made it ahead of time just for this.

_[In a flash, Clockwork was gone.]_

A full body shiver racked him.

That was all the warning he had.

_[His computer chimed. It was an e-mail from Tucker. He was finally allowed his PDA so, he sent a message of how he'll be heading home now tomorrow.]_

A tail can hold a lot of water apparently. He grabbed another towel. And a brush.

_[No word from Sam yet._

_He winced at what he'll have to tell them once they got back.]_

As he pulled yet _another_ tangle grimacing at the sting, he wondered how Dora handled her hair. He wondered if he could ask for tips.

Box ghost had seen him in human form(tail and all) last night, so the news was probably spread already. For such an annoying guy he can be pretty gossipy and always seemed to be one of the first to know anything.

_[He sent a message back saying he'll see him tomorrow and that he had something to tell them both once they're home.]_

Once his tail was dried and brushed ( _man, that sounds weird. He never thought he'd say that before._ ) he grabbed the brace thing that he took off before showering and clipped it back on, shivering as it activated once again.

_[Yawning he blinked sleepily, the day's events tiring him already. Considering it was already 8 PM he decided to turn in for the night._

_Yelling a goodnight to his parents -that were unpacking still he could hear the bangs- he changed into his PJ's and crawled into bed.]_

He thought putting on clothes would be a hassle but apparently, there was an 'intangibility' power on the brace too, so it slid through his clothes like it wasn't there.

_[He was out the moment his head hit the pillow.]_

He bounded down the stairs dodging the occasional mutant sausage and jumping over the last 'disappearing step,' he landed on the bottom floor. His tail hit the back of his head as backlash.

Ow.

His mom was making sandwiches in the kitchen, stabbing the occasional rabid hotdog and sticking them onto the cutting board. They struggled futilely.

"Morning sweetie!" A hug and a smile. "Sorry, we thought we had fixed the microwave." She gestured to the smoking carcass of metal that used to be the microwave. "As you can see it didn't work."

His dad was just hopping around the kitchen table with a fork, picking off each weiner that came near him. Jazz was also sitting at the table, reading her book and eating a bowl of cereal. She used her book as a shield for both the crumbs and flying sausages.

"Morfung Donny-boif!"

"Talk when your mouth isn't full, dad."

*gulp* "Sorry Jazzy-pants! Morning Danny-boy!"

"Morning."

His tail stung. Instinct had him whipping the tail and sending the poor sausage flying out the kitchen missing Jazz by a centimeter. Ghost sausages. Right. They can see it. And they have teeth. Ow.

Jazz gave him a look. Their parents had missed the action, but she almost got a faceful of hot dog. He winced and signed that he'll tell her later. She nodded with narrowed eyes then gestured to where the cereal was. The food tend to move around, much to the irritation of dad as his fudge keeps getting displaced. He could never find the culprit, though. ( _How would they react to their house being a slightly sentient ghost house? Hm._ )

Grabbing the cereal box -which was behind the toaster this time- he picked up a bowl and grabbed the milk from the fridge and made his cereal. ( _Not the ectoplasmic version, thankfully. That gave him a stomach ache, no matter his eating of such in the ghost zone_ ) Jazz slid a spoon to him and he grabbed it and started to eat.

"How was the tour?"

Jazz shrugged flipping through another page of her book. "Eh. It wasn't bad." She closed it with her finger on the page she was on and swung. A strangled squeak signified her success of evasion from sausage ambush. "But I don't think I'll go there."

"Why not?" Dad ate the final sausage. Mom had finished her sandwich and was now eating it whilst tinkering over the Ghost Gabber once again. Lower ectoplasmic beings (like, lower than even Klemper or box ghost.) couldn't speak English and only in ghost speak. Hence her trying to get it to work again so they would be able to understand them. Danny figured he was fine with that so long as they didn't physically hurt them.

Jazz huffed, tucking a stray red hair behind her ear. "It's too far away from Amity." Danny frowned around the spoon in his mouth. His tail swished lazily behind him phasing silently through the chair and anything in its way. He didn't notice.

"Jazz, I'll be fine. You _know_ that." It was her turn to frown.

"Danny I-"

" _Jazz, I'll be fine. Fear me. You know that. Fear me."_

A sigh was heard from across of them. Mrs Fenton rubbed her forehead a little as she glared at the translator. Jazz closed her mouth, realising that they weren't alone.

He blinked and finished his bowl. Standing up he dumped it in the sink for washing later.

"It still not working mom?"

" _It still not working mom? Fear me?"_ The Gabber dutifully copied what he said.

"As you can see," She said dryly and waved a screwdriver at it. "Not really."

His dad bounced over, ever enthusiastic, even in the morning. A foot went through Danny's tail. He cringed. Thank you, Clockwork.

"I'm sure we'll fix it soon, Honey! You're a genius after all!" He kissed his wife.

Danny silently gagged. Jazz whacked him lightly with her book.

" _Danny._ " She drawled.

" _Jazz."_ He answered back in the same way.

They glared playfully at each other. He was forgiven. She narrowed her eyes a little. But he was still telling her what's going on. Right. Silently he gestured with his head.

' _Your room please?'_

She cocked her head.

' _Sure.'_

And he walked out the room saying that he was gonna play video games with Tucker.(It was true but later on.) His parents, having gone back to their tinkering simply nodded. He walked upstairs and entered Jazz's room.

Jazz entered a few minutes later. Her on the bed and Danny in the chair. She raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

Danny swallowed.

"Um...so… I may or may not have gone through something."

"Like?"

"Something physically changing."

The other eyebrow joined its companion.

"What happened? Is it permanent? Is it hurting? Is this related to the beginning of summer when you kept-"

He placed a finger on her mouth. She stopped. Worried eyes looking at Danny. He tried not to smile, but judging by the look on her face he failed.

"Something ghost related. Yes, I think so. No, it used to but not anymore, and yes."

She frowned. He sighed.

"It's kind of complicated."

Jazz huffed. "We have time, Danny."

He looked away rubbing the back of his neck.

He said it in one breath. "Imayhavegonethroughasortofghostpubertythataffectedmyhumanforminsteadofphantom"

She blinked.

"Repeat that again?" She asked. "And a little slower please."

He looked at the ground and mumbled.

"Louder too please."

He sighed and glared at her a little. She merely gave him a deadpan expression.

"I may have gone through a sort of ghost puberty. Except it affected my human side instead of phantom." Much better.

A minute of silence.

"...When?"

"I think near the beginning of summer."

"...How?"

And he launched into an explanation (minus tail parts) of what Clockwork and Ghostwriter had told him. Of Recensere and how it happened to every ghost. Even half-ghosts. He told of how he went through it and that it took the entirety of the summer until his D-day to finish. (That was awkward enough to explain. He didn't mention what he almost did that day.)

There was a long silence as she adjusted to what her brother had told her.

"So… What changed?" She looked at him critically, looking for a difference in his appearance. He rubbed his neck again, having dropped it in favor of using it to explain his story while talking.

"...I got a new limb."

Silence.

"You got a what?"

"A tail."

"A tail?"

He nodded. And then he cut the power of the brace. It dispersed like mist, leaving an echo of coldness. By the widening of her eyes, it worked. His tail wagged a little, shaking the after effects off. Jazz watched the movement in silent shock.

"Clockwork gave me a brace that can help hide it. It's able to go through physical objects (including humans) that aren't ghost like in anyway and uuuh… Ta-da?" Jazz hands. (pun not intended. Maybe.)

Another pause. The eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted.

"...aw, sh*t."

At least she was on the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a fan of this one I dunno why. :3


	4. Stalling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blpfffffffffffftt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: This jumps all over the place, so I might edit it better. Any advice or criticism? Oh, and bolded words mean more than one person speaking at the same time.
> 
> Please, Enjoy. 
> 
> This is Unbetaed

 

He made sure that she had laid down properly and that the position she was in was comfortable before activating his brace and leaving her room quietly. A loud knocking was heard from downstairs.

"I'VE GOT IT!" A loud bang signified that his dad was now seeing who had decided to say hi. He had a pretty good guess on who it was.

"DANNY BOY! YOUR FRIEND TUCKER IS HERE."

"Coming Dad!" He called down as he started to make his way down the stairs. When he made the last step, there was his friend smiling at the bottom. He gave a little salute to Danny.

"I'm back." He grinned although there was some worry in his eyes. "What's this about needing to tell me and Sam something?"

Danny gave him a wry grin. "Welcome back, Tuck. No 'how-are-you-doings?' No, How-was-your-summers?'' He got slapped on the back.

"Yeah, yeah, How was your summer?" Tucker grinned. "And seriously what happened?" Danny shook his head.

"I told you before, not until Sam comes back. It'll be easier to tell you both at the same time." He looked away and mumbled, "and I'll be able to catch you both when you fall."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

They started walking back to the front door. "Wanna get some Nasty burger?" Danny asked. Tucker's stomach growled in response. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Hey, I haven't got to eat anything worthy of Nasty burger in ages!" Tucker protested. "You don't exactly find a burger growing in a forest!" The conversation paused as Danny went to write a note telling both his parents that he was going out with Tucker. The both of them had gone back down to the lab. He stuck the note on the fridge where anyone or Jazz was able to see.

And then they left.

* * *

"Anyways," Tucker turned to look at the Halfa. They were on their way to the Nasty burger as promised. The day was sunny, matching to Danny's mood at the fact that at least one of his friends was back.

"Are you sure you can't tell me now?" Danny shook his head for the fourth time since being asked.

"No, sorry Tuck. At the very least you should know that it isn't bad." Tucker frowned but relaxed a fraction.

"I'll take your word for it." Danny glanced slightly at his best friend since forever.

"Thanks, Tucker."

His tail swung to hover behind Tucker in a faux hug, taking care the metal part didn't touch him. (It was the only thing that stayed tangible, but invisible. Didn't make sense but, well you have what you can get.) He sniggered. Tucker gave him a weird look but let it slide. It was hard to control but he was getting there. Sure sometimes he knocked a few things over but that could easily be explained away with his clumsiness. The geek shivered, rubbing where Danny's tail was.

"Is it me or is it cold?" Danny's smile fell along with the tail. Oh. Looks like humans can feel it in a way. Gotta keep that in mind. ( _When would things ever be that easy?)_ He shook his head.

"Ghost core, remember? I can't feel the cold that easily." The techno gave him a halfhearted glare.

"Lucky."

"Daniel?" A voice from above had them looking up. There floated Ghostwriter. (" _So that's why it's cold."_ ) The reality writer had a few thin books in hand and seemed like he was heading towards the portal. ( _Are those kids books?_ ) The ghost's eyes flickered to his tail before looking back at him.

"Hello."

"Oh, hi An-" It was almost like he had teleported in front of him, and with a slap, his mouth was covered before he could finish the sentence.

"Shhhh!" GW almost looked frantic with the look in his eyes. "X-nay on ame-nay in public!" Danny blinked.

"So-?"

"It's considered rude to call someone by their true name." Danny's eyes widened.

"Oh. I'm sorry." GW shook his head.

"It's alright."

"Danny?" They both started, having forgotten that they weren't alone. The Halfa turned to Tucker.

"Hey uh, Tucker, do you remember him?" The geek shook his head. "Well, Tucker meet Ghostwriter. GW, Tucker."

Awkward silence. Danny ignored it in favor of asking GW a question. "Whatcha doin' here G?" The ghost in question pointed behind him to the library. Silently Ghostwriter floated down until his feet touched the ground. Were it not for the slight glow he would have looked human.

"I was at the library reading to the local children. As you can see." He gestured to the kids that were inside waving goodbye to him. Danny nodded.

"That's cool." Tucker gaped. Seeing that face reminded him that he didn't tell them what had gone on in the summer.

"Tucker, me and the ghosts-"

"The ghosts and I-" GW interrupted. Danny continued without a beat.

"-Had come up with a sort of truce. They're allowed to roam the town so long as they don't harass or terrorise anyone, and I won't chase them away." He rubbed his head, careful of the injury he got from before D-day. "Of course some of them just want to fight me." Tucker's mouth closed with a snap. He continued to stare at them before shaking his head and closing his eyes.

"Alright then." Danny nodded, happy that his friend since forever had accepted what happened. He turned to the reality-bending ghost.

"Wanna come with? We were heading to the Nasty burger to get some food. " He tilted his head considering. Danny facepalmed.

"Oh, wait. Ghost. Right. You can't eat, can you?" He peeked through his fingers. GW shook his head.

"We may not need food but we can most certainly enjoy it."

"Oh."

"..."

Andrew shrugged.

"Why not? I'll come."

And so, they arrived at the Nasty burger with a plus-one.

* * *

The next day Danny woke up to his computer ringing with emails from both Tucker and Sam. (Who should have gotten home today.)

TechLover8: [ _Morning Sleeping Beaut!_ ]

VegGoth646:[ _Dude, wake up!_ ]

TechLover8: [ _Sam's been pestering me about what you want to tell us all morning!_ ]

VegGoth646: [ _I'm Baaaaack._ ]

TechLover8: [ _UP!_ ]

VegGoth646: [ _GET UP!_ ]

SpaceBoi92=TechLover987+VegGoth646:

[ _I'm up, I'm up you're gonna wake the whole house with the spamming you're giving me._ ]

VegGoth646: [ _Good._ ]

TechLover8: [ _Good._ ]

SpaceBoi92=TechLover987+VegGoth646:

[ _Meet up at The Garden?_ ]

VegGoth646: [ _Sure. I'll bring food._ ]

TechLover8: [ _Alright. I'm bringing food, knowing Sam, she will too but it won't be to my palette._ ]

SpaceBoi92= TechLover8+VegGoth646: [ _See ya then._ ]

With a smile, he shut the computer close and went to take a bath.

* * *

It was currently 11 o'clock in the morning and everyone had either gone out ( _Jazz to her part-time job_.) or were down in the lab working. ( _Parents. As usual._ ) Danny didn't bother to eat considering his friends _were_ mother hens and they _were_ going to bring the food they mentioned. A lot of food. (He knew by experience.) He wondered if he could feed some to the others?

With a small breath, he checked to have both the Brace activated and bracelet worn. Then he transformed into Phantom and took off through the wall of his bedroom. ( _He made sure to leave a note that he would be with his friends on the kitchen table._ )

He flew through the streets, occasionally waving to the walking humans. A loud rumbling of a motor had him swerving a little to the right, barely dodging the motorcycle. Grinning he put a hand to his mouth yelling,

"Johnny, watch how fast you're going! I don't want you to crash into buildings!" He knew full well that they could turn intangible. Kitty, who was riding with them at the time waved back as they drove on, while Johnny simply saluted. They weren't the only ghosts to be out in the living world.

Now that they had the freedom to do so, several ghosts had come out of the portal, simply to explore or play or walk around. As was seen yesterday GW had gone to the local library. He also remembered seeing the box ghost helping an elderly lady carry her groceries while occasionally yelling a "Beware!" And once he thought he saw a signing convention of Ember's albums. ( _sans mind control._ ) And sure, there was still a few malevolent ghosts that tried to take over but many other ghosts _actually_ stopped them before he could lift a finger. He even once saw Princess Dorathea ( _Who had come for lessons on modern life._ ) chase off Penelope Spectra and Bertrand back into the portal.

It made things a lot easier for him. In fact, if this were to keep up he might even do better for next year school! Of course, he always did his best to be ready, just in case, things went FUBAR or the current ghosts in the area couldn't handle the bad ghost.

Closing his eyes he relished in the wind that came and made his hair more of a mess then it is. A passing local bird squawked at him in a casual greeting.

Small friendly ectopuses twirled around his ghostly tail as he continued onwards to the Garden beyond the outskirts of town.

He came to a stop once he reached the forest edge. Sam and Tucker wouldn't be able to get in as quickly and he preferred to get this over with. The both of them weren't here yet. Landing softly on the earth he looked around. Searching.

Where were they...?

A soft mew had him looking towards the trees. He smiled.

"There you guys are!"

Right in the shadows was a couple dozen glowing eyes staring at him from within the forest. Ghosts.

Well, more specifically, ghost animals that had died in a forest fire a long time ago. Squirrels, deer, an owl and a house cat that had chased a mouse into the forest and got trapped. He had stumbled on the group by pure accident when exploring the area next to the Garden. All he did was acknowledge that they were there, treated them nicely, and kinda befriended them, a month later. Somehow. Chuckling, he continued to speak.

"It's been a while. Sorry about that."

A rustle. A small hoot.

"I know, I know, but it was near my Death Day."

Silence.

Chitters of a squirrel. He shook his head, frowning.

"It's okay. You all didn't know," looking up he asked:

"How are all of you by the way?" He walked forward, intending to hear them better.

"Hey, Danny!" The eyes vanished.

Turning around he saw both of his friends struggling with a small cooler each and waving to him. He smiled again. Turning his head slightly towards the forest he spoke.

"I'll talk to all of you later, kay?"

A mew answered him. He chuckled.

Footsteps had him looking forward again. There in front of him was a huffing Tucker who collapsed on the ground alongside his container. Sam simply grunted as she slowly dropped her cooler on the ground with a _thud._ He raised an eyebrow.

"What did you guys _bring?_ "

" **Food."**

"For the entire Spanish Inquisition?"

A pair of glares answered him. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry, was just asking. Heh." Sam sighed.

"Anyways, are we going? I wanna hear about what you want to show us." Tucker grinned cheekily.

"She really has been pestering me all morning."

"Tucker, quiet," she slapped him on the arm. "Or I'll punch you."

"You already punched me!"

"That was a slap!"

"Same thing!"

"Oh, yeah!? Well, I-!"

And it slowly turned into bickering. He would have stopped them, but. The both of them were smiling. It was all in good fun. He chuckled, stopping their argument, which had somehow dissolved into politics of all things, and looked at him with confusion.

" **What?"**

And he dissolved into full belly laughter. Sam looked at the Danny on the ground and shook her head, smiling. Tucker just looked on in bewilderment, a smile still on his mouth. It had been a full month of not seeing each other. They were all happy to see each other.

And it would take a good five minutes before he stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 2033
> 
> Fun fact: there's something special about the #s in |SpaceBoi92|.  
> Think: Space.


	5. So Much in So Little

Trees flashed past and  _through_ them in the speeded-up trip that the trio was doing. An occasional (  _live_ ) squirrel would screech in startled surprise as they disturbed the branch they were on with a great gust of 'phantom' wind. And although they've done it dozens of times, both Sam and Tucker flinched whenever they flew through a tree. Well, that is if they could see. The foliage was so thick that even Danny had trouble seeing through it.

' _Gonna have to ask if they could clear it again.'_

But, at last, they arrived, 6,000 acres out from the forest’s edge, to the entrance of the Garden.

"Dude, I think that's a new record!" Danny glanced at the tech that he was holding by the waist, looking at the watch that had recorded said record. It took Danny 45 minutes to get here, baggage included.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Cool." Sam, who was in his other arm, shook her head.

"Boys."

Stopping, Danny slowly lowered back to earth careful of the baggage he had.

Smirking, he spoke, "Thank you for boarding Air Phantom, this is your captain speaking. You have arrived at your destination." Sam raised an eyebrow.

"And that would be?" He swept an arm forward, showcasing a fancy bow, and landing at the same time. White rings passed over his body turning him human and bringing his tail swishing into ( _semi_ ) existence. Showing what he knew they could see.

"Welcome to The Garden."

Now, the Garden wasn't really a "garden" per say. The Garden was more of a shack or house. Slightly rotted down but sturdy walls with vines and other plants crawling around and on it. A simple green curtain over the entrance signified as a door inside. In the front of the said shack was a small beautiful garden Sam herself had cultivated. No fence blocked it to the forest making it a wonderful blend of domestic and nature's wild. This place had more character than one of the books a certain teacher had always yelled.

This was their sanctuary.

This was the Garden.

Of course, you've only seen the outside. ( _We can't forget Tucker now can we?_ )

Sam smiled then gently pushed Danny back so she could get to the building itself.

"C'mon let's go." Danny raised an eyebrow at the cooler being left behind.

"What about the food?"

"Can you carry it ghost boy?" He huffed, picking up the cooler by its handle with ease. Absentmindedly, he picked up the one Tucker was struggling with almost sending his friend to the ground by the sudden weight lift.

"Whoa!"

"Sorry," Tucker grumbled lightly, but the small smile on his face showed his good humor.

Sam had already gone ahead, the swishing curtain signifying that she had already entered. They walked forward picking their way across the overgrown path. Some of the plants seemed to shy away from Danny as he stepped through giving him a better access through. Tucker chuckled lightly at the evasion of Danny's aura, quite used to seeing it already. Pushing past the curtain, they went through.

Inside was divided into five, pretty obvious sections despite there being no walls. The far right back was littered with books and bookshelves, the occasional bean bag here and there. The shelves were stuffed full of supernatural references that mixed with books like 'Hacking for Advanced' or 'How-to' references. There was even a recipe book somewhere in the piles of school books on the floor.

Another corner, a table. Computers. ( _The best that Tucker could afford. Almost as great, if not, just as good as the one he had at his house._ )

The corner opposite held a mini kitchenette of sorts with a small working refrigerator  _(salvaged from the dump, scrubbed and cleaned by Danny, made workable by Tucker. At your service._

" _If this ghost stuff doesn't work out we could always be garbage restorer men."_

" _What am I? Chopped liver?" Sam asked with raised eyebrows and crossed arms._

" _You could be the secretary person who likes, watches over finances or other stuff when we sell the stuff we fix." She punched him. And he tried very hard not to laugh._

" _...kay, I deserved that."_

_He couldn’t help it._

" _Don't laugh at my mistakes!")_ And a small stove stood next to it. (  _Again, by Danny and Tucker._ ) The next corner over held a couple beds shoved together for maximum space. Both Tucker and Danny had gotten permission to sleep over together. (  _They didn't say_ where.) And this was the best spot for them to go to if something happened. (Sam's parents wouldn't let her. It made sense gender-wise.)

And right, smack dab in the middle, was the 'Ghost Lab' as Tucker would say. It's where Danny himself would experiment with the many things involving ghosts, ghost hunting and such. The workshop was a metal table with a shit-ton of random scraps and wiring and a lot of bottles full of ghost goo/ectoplasm. Plus, a laptop full of both blueprints/files from the Fenton family lab computers, and his own special made files full of both his own ideas and files on his own ghosts. And DOOM. Mustn't forget DOOM.

Metal walls, floors and ceiling using the scrap from the Fenton workshop _(When Danny asked for it, he got away with almost no questions._

_“How?”_

_“Don’t ask.”)_

Soft carpets littered the floor in no particular order and in various colours of reds, greens, blues and yellow. All in all, a very good Garden and second home.

When Danny had first found it, he was just flying around and found it by complete accident. It happened to be inhabited by a nice old lady ( _ghost_ ) whom Danny helped move on. (  _Wanted to make sure her cat was okay. They..._ definitely  _found it. It was doing fine._ ) In return, they got the papers for her land in an iron box some six feet underground. It encompassed almost the entire forest that was next to Amity Park and the only ones who knew they owned it was the Land ownership people and themselves. That old lady was a rich lady back in the day.

The money rotted away sadly enough, much to the horror of Tucker. ( _“NOOOO!!”_ ) The inside of the said house had bugs and the floor was littered with soiled planks of wood just asking for someone's foot to get stuck in. (  _Case in point: Danny._ ) But well, The trio had all figured that it could be remade into a ‘base’ of a sort for them. Or for if life got too stressful for them, A getaway for an hour or two. It had been fifty somethin’ years, since the last Big Fire and according to Sam this house would have long dissolved, but the house held up well.

It's a big house. Rich old lady ( _died of smoke in her sleep before the fire reached her_ ) and her cat. There was a chimney, but uh...well you know how the fire got started now.

And it was all theirs.

Tucker stretched lightly, while Danny went to the fridge to put some of the food inside it.

"Hey, Bring some food back will ya? Carrying that all the way made me hungry."

"Of course it made you hungry, Tuck, you have a bottomless pit that I'd call a black hole if it wouldn't insult said Blackhole."

"Ok, that was uncalled for!" Absentmindedly Danny hummed, shoving the many sandwiches, salads,- _is that a pot roast?_ -more sandwiches, and some water bottles. Small, the fridge may be but it could hold a lot. He stopped once he had only 5 sandwiches and three water bottles.

Tucker landed with a flop on the bean bags with Sam joining him a second later. With a smile, he handed the both of them their respective sandwiches and drinks.

" **Thanks."**  Danny snorted.

"The both of you are starting to sound like twins." Sam gave a glare, choosing to ignore the remark by taking a bite of her Broiled Chèvre & Avocado Open-Faced Sandwich™. Tucker did the same for his bologna. Danny had followed suit on the three sandwiches he had. Half an hour passes in this fashion as they ate their now-proclaimed-breakfast.

A breeze blows through the curtains as the small ectopuses that had followed Danny to the forest flew through, thoroughly startling Sam. Tucker had merely looked up before returning to his sandwich and game. Danny smiled as the small creature-like ectoplasmic figures started to nuzzle his face. His...tail started to flick back and forward, bringing its attention to the puppy like creatures. Now, to Sam and Tucker, it would look like a bunch of random ectoplasmic blobs were circling in a weird tornado of sorts that shifted around like water. Back and forth. It was good practice.

"Hey, uh...Danny?"

"Hm?"

"You... _do_ realise that's a ghost, right?"

" _Really?_ I  _never_ realised." Danny smirked as he continued to play with the little things, ignoring the burning stare in his side. “Technically it’s more than one.”

"...Danny, you still haven't told us what you wanted to yet."

"Glad to know you finally remembered." Okay, so maybe he was still feeling a  _little_ bitter about the whole leaving thing. Just a little, he knew it wasn't her fault.

"...You, I dunno, wanna tell us?" Looking at her he finally saw them, while greatly confused, held a strong look of concern in the goth's eyes. Tucker paused, looking up too, to hear his answer. Sighing, Danny let his tail drop to the little balls had immediately followed it to cuddle around the weird thing they liked. That felt a little weird to be honest.

"Something happened while you guys were gone. Ah no, before you left actually. It was a gradual thing, y'know?" Now they were alert, sitting up straight. Something that they didn't notice? It must've been  _bad_ for Danny to hide it.

And He explained his predicament for the second time of the week.

One thing led to another, a few books were thrown and only one of them fainted. ( _Tucker_ ) He even told them about the bracelet. (  _Never let it be said that he kept secrets from his friends. At least, not for long.)_ And in the end, they accepted the new appendage with a sigh and a smile.

Clockwork was right as always.


End file.
